Many types of textiles are used in our every-day life. When electronics are unobtrusively integrated into these textiles (to create electronic textiles), new application fields emerge. One such example of a new application is light-emitting textiles, and other examples include textile-based sensing systems etc.
Existing electronic textiles typically comprise a flexible component carrier on which electronic components are mounted, and a cover textile sheet arranged on top of the electronic components in order to provide the desired textile look-and-feel to the electronic textile. For various applications, such as light-emitting electronic textiles and textile-based pressure sensing systems etc., the electronic textiles often include an additional textile layer arranged between the flexible component carrier and the cover textile sheet. This additional textile layer may provide different functionalities depending on application. In the case of a light-emitting electronic textile, the additional textile layer may, for example, be a diffuser layer.
WO 2006/129246 discloses one example of an electronic textile with such an additional textile layer arranged between a component carrier and a cover textile sheet. WO 2006/129246 discloses a light-emitting electronic textile with a component carrier in the form of a flexible substrate having a plurality of electronic components attached thereto. The light-emitting electronic textile according to WO 2006/129246 further comprises a diffusing element formed by two layers of non-woven fabric with different densities, and on top of the diffuser, there is provided a layer of fabric to give the light-emitting electronic textile a traditional fabric feel.
Although WO 2006/129246 provides an electronic textile with the desired textile-like mechanical properties, concealed electronic components and light-diffusion, there still appears to be room for improvements, in particular in terms of the reliability of an electronic textile.